Commentary

Alan Fram has been covering Capitol Hill for the Associated Press since 1983. You've no doubt read hundreds of his stories on congressional happenings, including here at Alabama Daily News.

When Gov. Kay Ivey called the Alabama Legislature into special session in January of this year, the task was clear: Allocate hundreds of millions of dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act to benefit Alabamians through game-changing investments in broadband, health care and water and sewer infrastructure.

The anniversary of this battle is recognized as Cinco de Mayo; an important consequence of the Mexican experience now embraced internationally. With a history of more lows than highs, May 5th serves as a great excuse to reflect upon Mexican independence.

Mr. Johnson was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1998, twenty-four years ago, for the killing of Deputy Sheriff William G. Hardy in Birmingham.  But over time, the State’s case has fallen apart, and there’s now substantial evidence that Mr. Johnson is innocent. 

Often lost among the more provocative and controversial bills that generate headlines and hullabaloo during legislative sessions are the solid policy measures designed to address long-standing problems endemic to state government.

Only 22% of Alabama students were proficient in math on the 2021 ACAP state assessment, including only 11% of low-income students and 7% of Black students.  This puts us dead last nationally. In addition, there are currently 28 K-5 schools that have 0% of students proficient in math. 

Workers have the right to join a union. But when they decline to do so, government’s job shouldn’t be to disregard that decision. If workers at Bessemer say “no” again, let’s hope the NLRB will listen this time.

In 1921, Alabama farmers united to provide a voice in public policy for the rural families often ignored by politicians. These men and women joined forces to improve profitability in an economic system where they felt powerless. They came together to improve the quality of life for their children and neighbors. 

Gov. Kay Ivey and the Alabama Legislature recognize this certain and imminent shift and we are preparing Alabama to continue in its role as a national auto-manufacturing leader.

Recent heavy rains put the spotlight on one of the most common yet extremely difficult to resolve environmental concerns – untreated or partially treated sewage getting into our rivers, lakes and streams. Inflow of rainwater through cracked pipes or faulty manhole covers and infiltration of groundwater through deteriorated sewer lines can overwhelm a sewer system and send sewage into waterways.

The new laws are working. Fewer young people are sent to prison, sentences are shorter, the Habitual Felony Offender Act is used less. 

Direct care workers may help their clients dress, bathe, eat, and go to the bathroom, and they may assist with many other household needs.  If it weren’t for direct care workers, many seniors and people with disabilities would be unable to stay in their homes. 

On that date in 1215, the Magna Carta was signed, beginning a gradual process of defined individual rights and limiting the power and authority of the British crown. The Declaration of Independence which outlined the colonists’ desire for freedom from the edicts of King George, is a direct descendant of the Magna Carta.

With the passage of the Connect Alabama Act, the Alabama Legislature has effectively made the single most important investment in positioning Alabama to succeed in the 21st century. The Act will assist in expanding affordable, high-speed broadband internet access across the state to the benefit of all Alabamians.

Now, more than ever, we must commit to ensuring that students are reading on grade level by the end of third grade. A critical part of that support is ensuring students move on to fourth grade when ready with the skills they need. Senate Bill 94 would fail students by removing an important last resort measure that ensures a child is better prepared for the rigors of classwork.  

With such a barrage of bills, both passed and pending, it’s easy to be confused, especially by various versions of legislation dealing with seemingly related topics.

Everyone has a Bud story, or perhaps a dozen, and I can’t think of a better way to convey how meaningful his legacy is than by telling my own.

Despite the dangers, the trucking industry remains resilient during this pandemic at every stage. During the early weeks of the outbreak, America’s 3.6 million truck drivers ensured stores were stocked, hospitals were supplied, and first responders were equipped. While some Americans have taken steps to show their appreciation for truck drivers, most do not realize how essential the industry is to their daily lives until a crisis hits. 

One emerging theme in the Legislature this year is lawmakers pushing proposals which would alter, undo or turn upside down the state policies and procedures that have irritated them over the last year or so.

So much of what has occurred these last few years in our politics can be attributed to cognitive dissonance, the psychological theory that explains why we often choose self-delusion over beliefs that conflict with our own.

Things are tough, no doubt, which is why I’m ready to burn down 2020 before I start celebrating 2021. Some Native Americans burn sage as part of a ritual to cleanse a space, so let’s fire one up and use it to light the fuse on the past year. 

Our thoughts and prayers are with Gaynell and the entire Dixon family. He will be sorely missed but never forgotten.

Unlike many political leaders who espouse high minded principles, she pursued hers with what some considered reckless abandon.  Thatcher took significant steps to push back the suffocating hand of state control and return the economy to a true free market. Government intervention was replaced with individual responsibility and human action.

It’s hard to consider, much less savor, good things when so many bad things are happening all around you. But it’s times like these when thanks given and appreciation shown because it’s those minor things, the ones that are often overlooked, that will carry us through this valley and get us back to the mountaintop.

Holmes, who died Saturday at age 81, served in the House for 44 years, more than half his life, a record that will probably never be broken. He was a controversial but, in my opinion, a lovable and entertaining figure in the House.

We must decide whether we are going to govern and live by the principles we say we believe in, or whether we are going to say one thing and do another.

2020 started as a typical year where many were planning and working with high hopes for a productive legislative session, school year or university semester, or simply hoping for a beautiful spring. Little did we know COVID-19 would turn us all inside out and literally stop the world in its tracks.

As governors who are either the first or second females to be elected in our respective states, we are rightfully proud to see diversity expand among the highest levels of government. Notably, however, our support for Judge Barrett hinges not on her being a female, but rather her superior intellect, unflappable composure and impeccable integrity, all which combine to make her eminently qualified in every way. 

This time of uncertainty for the unemployed and underemployed is a desperate struggle, and our hearts and prayers go out to those affected. It can also be, however, a time of unexpected opportunity.

There are still plenty of ways Trump can win this thing and more still that Biden can lose it, so my analysis assumes each has a shot in this race at the moment. 

Critics say the president’s failure to implement ironfisted control across the nation means there was/is no plan to fight the virus. I, and our nation’s Founding Fathers, disagree.

As Gov. Ivey noted, the workforce challenges we face right now are far different that those we faced just six months ago. However, as always, our state has risen to those challenges even amid the uncertainty of a global pandemic.

The death of longtime Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the fight over how to fill her seat on the bench has turned up the heat on an election year already boiling over with emotion.

"Growing up in a trucking family isn’t easy. It’s a lot of long hours for thankless work. So let me take this opportunity to celebrate the working man and give you the glimpse into the eye of a trucker."

Any day now, a fragile, disabled man who sacrificed his health and youth to serve his country will be thrown into the most dangerous prisons in America

we must be mindful that Alabama’s military tradition and defense presence did not come naturally and without much hard work and influence.

The Alabama Legislature was one of the earliest in the nation to adjourn its Regular Session this year, and they did so sooner than planned.

Our facilities are crowded, and our buildings are falling apart. Living and working conditions are, unquestionably, not sustainable. We face staffing shortages. Instances of violence among our inmate population pose a real challenge. No one denies this, least of all me. However, Governor Ivey, my staff, and I refuse to sit back and watch these problems further take root across our system. 

Local districts have to balance factors like the rate of new COVID-19 cases, the needs of working parents, the academic and social-emotional needs of students, and many other factors to determine the most appropriate course. Additionally, there are serious concerns about the loss of high-quality instruction and its effect on our underserved students.

While plenty of reasons to meet for a special session exist, plenty of arguments can be heard to just hold off until next year.

When Nick Saban donned a protective mask, went on ESPN and appealed to citizens to take the coronavirus seriously lest we lose out on a college football season, you know he meant business.

Alabama has long been a leader in the automotive manufacturing sector in the United States and, now, we have the opportunity to sustain that momentum for years to come through significant investments in the electric vehicle (EV) industry.

There were some real bright spots in this year's budgets that we mustn't overlook just because of the strange circumstances of the session.

As we honor the members of “the Greatest Generation” who served 75 years ago, let us pause to reflect on the selfless work that these ordinary Americans accomplished.

Fines, fees, and court costs have long served as a hidden tax on Alabamians involved with the criminal legal system or who get the occasional traffic ticket. And they fund far more than just district attorneys or even just the administration of justice.

When Alabama Trucking Association President and CEO Mark M. Colson talks about those serving the country during the COVID-19 pandemic, he realizes a lot of people are helping that might not get the attention.

It didn’t take long for President Donald Trump to weigh in on the run-off in the Alabama GOP Senate race to nominate a candidate to face incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Doug Jones.

As we gather with family and friends this year to celebrate, I pray that we do not forget the reason behind this special holiday: the birth of Jesus Christ and His message of hope in a troubled world.

Like many great men of that generation, he genuinely loved and cared about people and helping his fellow man. He helped and cared for his folks in Lee County on a daily basis, especially assisting students at Auburn University.

Thanks to passage of the new United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA), I am confident our state’s economy will continue to boom. The USMCA deal will unlock new opportunities for businesses in our state while protecting our Alabama workers.

"To be sure, if this bill passes it will have major impacts on employers, law enforcement, farmers, insurance companies, and others."

For over 100 years Alabama has been at the forefront of innovation in aerospace and aviation.

Aside from Independence Day, no other holiday is as profoundly American as Thanksgiving.

For the last several months, the Alabama Medical Marijuana Study Commission has met and set out to begin crafting legislation to be introduced in the next legislative session.

I’m always interested in the different ways candidates and their consultants try to reach people, particularly via earned media, and it all starts with the announcement.

From Montgomery to Mobile to Birmingham to Washington, D.C., the speculation has been running high for the last month and hit a fever pitch last week with several published reports wondering what might happen.

It is with great hope and enthusiasm I humbly thank the State Democratic Executive Committee and accept the call to serve as the next Chair of Alabama’s Democratic Party.

We must bring transformational change to our education system. Here are some places to start.

For the last two or three weeks, speculation has steadily grown that former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions will enter the race to win back his old Senate seat.

We are well into the 2019 football season. Likewise, the 2020 election is pretty much in full swing already.

Afghan society must continue to see an increased number of women serving in all societal roles – in the military, police force, as educators, and more.

Mental health conditions are something that stick around longer than awareness months. These problems are like chronic conditions such as heart disease or diabetes. They take diligence to deal with. Like the tides, they can recede sometimes and then come surging back.

Reed is certainly aware of the magnitude of the moment. Listen to his victory speech, and you’ll hear him figuratively bridge the problematic past to a more hopeful future.  

Assuming Democrats are successful in actually approving articles of impeachment in the House, will the Republican majority in the Senate be there to protect Trump? I’d be willing to bet it is. 

Until voters are willing to trust their elected officials and reject local demagogues in politics and media who only tell them what they want to hear, I worry that our wonderful state will be stuck in the mud of our own making.

The next time you feel the urge to heckle a kid for missing a tackle or boo an NFL quarterback for moving on with his life, think of Blake Bivens.

Last year there were 110 homicides in Birmingham, according to the Jefferson Co. DA’s office. More than 40 are unsolved nor are they likely to be solved, according to state statistics. That’s not the scary part. 

This past weekend, the Executive Committee of the Alabama Republican Party jumped into the liberal playbook feet first when it passed a resolution calling for Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) to be ousted from Congress.

Not long ago, I walked into a clinic to find two inmates under guard by two officers. The guards were 30ish, buff, with chiseled chins.

In the aftermath of the two domestic terrorism episodes in El Paso and Dayton, as well as the shootout with police in Philadelphia, are people today more likely to commit such heinous acts of violence because we’ve been exposed to it in our media? 

The hot winds of segregation began to blow after the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954.  They had reached a crescendo inferno in the Heart of Dixie by 1958.

If we are serious about the various freedoms entangled in this discussion, particularly freedom of speech and the right to bear arms, we have to explore creative ways of dealing with these problems.

Most people agree a new bridge is necessary. However, the most significant obstacle has always been how to pay for it. As governor, I am committed to looking at all reasonable solutions to move this project forward.

When I was in journalism school in Tuscaloosa, we wannabees thought New York was paradise and that if we were good reporters we’d go to the New York Times when we died. Today, I hardly recognize it, except for the front page and the “flag” at top in Olde English script.

No one should be forced to choose between putting food on the table or buying a lifesaving medication.

Bottom line: the EPA is ordering millions to be spent to decrease phosphorus in the river, amidst considerable uncertainty, when two far more obvious solutions exist: help Birmingham Water stop sucking the river dry, and eliminate the dams.

By CARLA CROWDER, Executive Director, Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice A few weeks ago, a search dog working...

If bright lights like Roby and Hurd find that serving as a member of the House is a fruitless endeavor, other young leaders are likely to arrive at the same conclusion.

When the Cahaba River runs upstream, you know things are out of whack.

Line up ten convicted Alabama felons. According to the department’s own statistics, three of the ten are on the streets right now due to shortshifted parole.  

Alabama’s prison system was designed for about 9,900 inmates but it’s currently holding more than 16,000 – an occupancy rate of more than 165 percent, according to data published by the Alabama Department of Corrections. 

As one of the most conservative states in the nation, the conservative movement needs a healthy Alabama that has strong, multilayered representation and power in the Electoral College to push a conservative candidate to 270.

The biggest story in the state right now is the controversy surrounding the proposed new bridge spanning the Mobile River that would at long last alleviate frequent congestion along Interstate 10 through the Wallace Tunnel.

It is tempting to pass off the whole matter as partisan wrangling, but we should push past that inclination. The question that should haunt us is this:  “how would you react if the other party was found to have engaged in this behavior?”

Admittedly there is a disconnect between the intensity of fandom in our state and much of our day to day existence in a state that often ranks near the bottom of many national rankings. 

Don’t worry, I won’t offer any horse race prognostications. It’s far too early for that. What I will offer is some advice for those following what will surely be an interesting race: be careful about buying into conventional wisdom.

Just like Clark Griswold’s plans for a fun, old-fashioned family Christmas, Roy Moore has shown up like "Cousin Eddie," ruining what should be a conventional primary and generally making everyone uncomfortable.

While dad-deprived homes cause problems for both sexes, it has a particularly damaging impact on young men. 

Among my biggest impressions from watching the session was how willing and, perhaps, eager the Legislature was to dive into thorny, complicated issues that most political advisers might advise against. If that continues, the next three years will indeed be interesting.

Generation X and its millennial siblings are no longer responding to political arguments the way voters once did.  The despair and angst that marks much of Republican rhetoric the last two elections is not resonating with young voters. It seems that what young voters want is something markedly more hopeful and optimistic.

At least politicians are predictable. They spend a year making promises then, if elected, spend three years blaming someone else because they cannot keep them. They spend the fourth year making promises again, and often the same ones. 

This legislation forces our state’s institutions, from the state board of education down to every elementary school, to reckon with the fact that too many children have managed to move up the ladder without achieving the appropriate level of literacy.

I wouldn’t know Stacy Broderick if he walked up and pinched me.

Last week, the Alabama House of Representatives voted 92-3 to pass the Alabama Literacy Act (HB 388) with bipartisan support. Every child deserves the opportunity and support to become an excellent reader.

. The last few weeks in the Alabama legislature bring to mind an image from HBO’s harrowing drama True Detective, where a cynical Matthew McConaughey bleakly quotes Friedrich Nietzsche and says, “time is a flat circle.”  Some things will apparently not change, and so here we are again debating an education lottery and abortion.

Well, I dang near died. Word that I did die went round to some. Obviously, happily, it was an exaggeration. But it was a near thing. All-in-all, it was quite the adventure. I don’t recommend it.

This may not have been a perfect bill, and certainly future legislatures will tinker and tweak it in various ways. In the end, though, it is an important achievement of mature governance that recognizes improvements cannot come about on their own.

Gov. Kay Ivey made infrastructure improvement in the state her cornerstone issue for this year, and more importantly for her term as governor.  Within less than three months in office she and the Legislature have successfully accomplished this mission.

Jones has a unique opportunity to help resurrect a politics that believes in an active federal government while making it clear that you reject both a kinda-sorta welfare state in the common sense, and socialism in the more extreme case.  This sort of responsible centrism forces the Republican Party to deal with substantive issues like health care, education, and, yes, even climate change

By SKIP TUCKER, Alabama Daily News Featured Columnist After national pollsters, national talking heads and Hillary Clinton were handed their...

By the ALABAMA POLICY INSTITUTE PART I – THREE GUIDING IMPERATIVES To be clear up front, the Alabama Policy Institute...

In order to correct a problem, you must first admit there is a problem. In Alabama, we have a problem. Our problem is our state’s corrections system.

By CARLA CROWDER, Executive Director, Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice Fearing federal intervention, Alabama leaders have focused on...

Regardless of what happens in Donald Trump’s administration over the next two years, he will have a proven record of success as President especially if you are a conservative American.

By MATTHEW STOKES, Alabama Daily News Columnist Today, the shutdown of the federal government is in its 31st day, and...

By MATTHEW STOKES, Alabama Daily News Columnist By the time this goes to print, most all of Alabama’s students will...

By STEVE FRENCH, former Alabama State Senator and Republican political operative Recently, we buried the first president I had the...

By BRUCE ELY, Senior Partner, Bradley Law Firm Originally posted as a guest blog at David Sher’s Comeback Town.  Alabama...

Life is hard, even at time with material abundance like we have never seen.  We should not forget that life is hard for those around us, and we should not feel ashamed to confront that our lives are often difficult.

By MATTHEW STOKES, Alabama Daily News Columnist Last Friday was a sad day for a certain type of conservative.  I...

By RACHEL BRYARS, Alabama Policy Institute Boards representing three of the state’s largest public school systems – Mobile, Baldwin and...

By SKIP TUCKER, Alabama Daily News Featured Columnist Our old friend D.T, whose adventures in Old Pisgah Graveyard were twice...

The Alabama Opportunity Scholarship fund has been a life-changing experience for me and my older son. Without it, I don’t know if he would still be in school. It is important that we continue to support this scholarship fund through the Alabama Accountability Act.

By RACHEL BLACKMON BRYARS, Alabama Policy Institute Alabama board of education member Ella Bell, D-Montgomery, spoke out during a work session Thursday claiming...

Our work as citizens does not end on Tuesday. It is good to remind ourselves that most of our problems are not solved in Washington and Montgomery.

By SKIP TUCKER, Alabama Daily News Featured Columnist It is time, as the great W.C. Fields once observed, to take...

Walt Maddox could have been so much more, and in time he may be. For now, though, he remains a bright face in an empty suit.

By SKIP TUCKER, Alabama Daily News Featured Columnist In the troubling wildness of the Kavanaugh hearings, particularly troubling to your...

Editor’s note: Birmingham real estate attorney and regular news commentator Guy V. Martin recently wrote an op-ed for The Birmingham...

It’s been recounted that all graveyards are cemeteries, but not all cemeteries are graveyards, and, worse, some graveyards are bone orchards. The differences are these: graveyards are haunted, every one, but a bone orchard is meaner. A bone orchard might get you.

By Brandon K. Essig Like all Americans, I have observed the past few weeks of the Kavanaugh confirmation process with...

Every August, Congress takes a District Work Period so members have extra time to spend across their congressional district.

There was a major, bipartisan victory in Congress last week that failed to gain any of the attention it deserved.

By SKIP TUCKER, Alabama Daily News Kenny Stabler is the only national celebrity I have known, and I wasn’t a...

By SKIP TUCKER, Alabama Daily News Featured Columnist Sugar Bowl, New Orleans, Jan. 2, 1967. The winter of 1966 was...

By PERRY HOOPER President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order to establish a new workforce initiative in the US....

One blistering summer afternoon when I was 10, I saw John Henry drive steel. I kid you not. From the...

By now you’ve probably heard talk of the “blue wave” that’s supposed to come this November. Many political prognosticators say...

By SKIP TUCKER, Alabama Daily News featured columnist My turn in the barrel. That’s the punchline to a very old,...

The battle over Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court is heating up in Washington. President Donald Trump selected Kavanaugh...

By TODD STACY, Alabama Daily News Don’t look now, but President Trump’s Chinese import tariffs might be working. Many – including...

By SKIP TUCKER, Alabama Daily News Featured Columnist During the racially turbulent mid-seventies, on a comfortable summer morning, the editor...

By PERRY O. HOOPER I am a strong advocate for free enterprise and for free trade. However. we have a...

By CAROLINE BECK, Alabama Daily News Since most of this week’s political talk has been consumed about the possibility of...

In early spring, 1970, a young journalism student at the University of Alabama learned a Candlelight March to support civil...

With Alabama’s primary elections now fully in the rearview mirror, we can look back to see what happened and why...

By SKIP TUCKER, Alabama Daily News Columnist Now comes the victorious resurrection of the remarkable Mr. Elliott, he of the...

The primary campaign is over this week, and we can all be grateful for that. November will be here before we know it. If we want more from our candidates than we got in these last few months, then it's up to us to demand more of them.

By Skip Tucker, Alabama Daily News Robert Kennedy believed that so long as people respond to courage of enlightened conviction...

By Taylor Dawson, Alabama Policy Institute When most of us think about the Fourth of July, we think about pool...

Otto Whittaker wrote the following essay, “I Am the Nation” in 1955 as a public relations advertisement for the Norfolk and Western Railway.  The message found in Mr. Whittaker’s essay is still appropriate for this Independence Day, so I have chosen to include it below as part of my weekly column.

The biggest story in the political world right now is President Donald Trump’s impending appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court. And, like most big political stories, Alabama is right in the middle of it. 

The late great U.S. Rep. Carl Elliott, D-Jasper, in 1950 commissioned a Congressional Study which found there is (or was)...

Quit trying to score points in a stupid media game of pointing out inconsistencies; there will always be time for that. Instead, demand better from those can make a change.

By SKIP TUCKER, Alabama Daily News contributor Riddle me this: What does a special interest group have in common with...

By SKIP TUCKER, Alabama Daily News contributor The vernal equinox slipped seamlessly by, mystically doing whatever equinoxes do, but this...

By SKIP TUCKER, Alabama Daily News contributor The man from Chicago, in Alabama to oversee ballot security for the 1986...

A season of change appears to be underway at the Business Council of Alabama, one of the state’s largest political advocacy groups. After 15 years at the helm, CEO Billy Canary is set to retire in about 18 months when his contract ends.

Gov. Kay Ivey experienced what no public official wants or deserves when unfounded rumors and speculation about her personal life became a media firestorm. Now that the dust has settled, what happened is a case study in how to handle a high-stakes political story - and how not to. 

By SKIP TUCKER, Alabama Daily News Contributor I’ve been in and around newspapers for decades. After all that time, I...

By STEVE FLOWERS, Columnist We are less than four weeks away from our June 5th primary. Those of us who...

By STEVE FLOWERS Among the plethora of races on the ballot this year are the important seats on the Alabama...

By STEVE FLOWERS, political columnist Our antiquated 1901 Constitution was designed to give inordinate power to the Legislature.  During the...

By TODD STACY, Alabama Daily News The seismic news that House Speaker Paul Ryan will not seek reelection rocked Washington...

By KAY IVEY, Governor April 10, 2018, marks one year since I unexpectedly became governor. With only three hours’ notice...